I have heard that bipod a will raise the POI because of how the barrel vibrates against bipod, but does this happen when the barrel is free floated? Because I would think that it wouldn't change the POI since the barrel doesn't touch the stock except at the receiver.

I have heard that bipod a will raise the POI because of how the barrel vibrates against bipod, but does this happen when the barrel is free floated? Because I would think that it wouldn't change the POI since the barrel doesn't touch the stock except at the receiver.

Anything can affect your POI. That's why after you sight in your rifle you should confirm zero the way it will be used. In my case when I sight in a hunting rifle I will then take some off hand and rested shots the way I would from field positions to make sure I'm Ok. Bipods are specially prone to issues because of the additional weight on the stock, springs, pre-loading etc which affects the way the rifle behaves during the firing sequence.

Now that being said, HOW MUCH things are affected by changes in shooting positions or equipment is the issue. In a well stocked rifle with a free-floated barrel the effect shoul be minimal, and ultimately that's what you are going for. That's why I'm not a big fan of stocks with ANY kind of flex to them like the standard plastics that come with most budget rifles these days. Nothing agains the rifles themselves, but an upgrade to a nice HS Precision or B&C as soon as the budget allows is always a prudent investment.

Just bought a savage 10 fcp-k with the accustock, it(the stock) will only budge with about 30lbs of force, so I think I'll be ok, at least while I can't out-shoot the gun.

If you ever see super slow speed video of a rifle during firing you'd be shocked to see how many things twist, jump, vibrate etc, EVEN with a high quality stiff stock. The name of the game is to minimize these things and since it's almost impossible to get rid of all flexing, to at least make it repeatable which is the name of the game in consistency. As I said before EVERYTHING affects POI but if the effect because of a stiff barrel/action/stock/rest platform/human interface etc is minimized to something you can live with then it becomes something you can live with depending on your application.

You wont see any 1,000 yard competitive shooters switching ANYTHING in their setup once they start shooting because of this but for a hunter if changing from a bipod to a backpack as a rest, changes the POI by1" chances are you really won't care.

Along with above(flexy cheap stocks)....ammo can have an effect.If you're handloading and have found a sweet spot(node),then it seems to make less measurable change of impact.But,have a load not developed,where you may be on a ragged edge WRT it's overall "balance".....and BP(bipod) can change POI.

Repeatability or consistency is what you're striving for.Try shooting with your BP off a smooth benchtop.....where recoil/bump/jump is the same shot after shot.Then compare that with shooting same setup off the ground where,there can be a noticable "drag" or digging in of the feet.

All of the above isn't going to show up on a rig only capable of 3" groups....just not enough acc(IMO).So work on consistent loads,bedding,and technique before complicating it with a BP.